JP2620570B2 - Automatic ice making equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic ice making device, and more particularly to a water purification device in a refrigerator ice making device.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, the following structure is known as an ice making device for a refrigerator.

That is, a water tray is arranged in a refrigerator compartment, and the water tray is divided into a measuring chamber and a spare chamber by a partition wall having an orifice. The water level in the water receiving tray is positioned so that it is removable and the water level in the water tray is positioned at the same level as the water level at the lower end of the tank spout. Water is supplied to the placed ice tray.

This conventional ice making device will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

In the figure, the lower part is a refrigerator compartment 10 and the upper part is an ice making compartment or freezing compartment 12. A water tray 14 is provided in the refrigerator compartment 10, and the water tray 14 is divided into a measuring chamber 20 and a spare chamber 22 by a partition wall 18 having an orifice 16 such as a slit.

A replenishing tank 24 is detachably disposed at an upper opening of the preliminary chamber 22 so that a spout 26 thereof faces downward. The supply tank 24 includes a slightly flat box-shaped main body 28 and a water supply port cap 30 having a valve screwed to the mouth and neck at one end.

When water is poured with the supply tank 24 facing upward and the water supply port cap 30 is fitted, the valve 34 abuts on the lid plate 32 of the water supply port cap 30 by the action of the spring 36 to close the spout 26. Next, as shown in the figure, the replenishment tank 24 is placed downward and supported by a support means (not shown) so as to cover the ridge 38 provided at the center of the preliminary chamber 22 so as to cover the spout 26. As a result, the lower end of the leg 40 provided on the valve 34
Is pushed up by the top of
The water inside moves into the preliminary chamber 22 below the opening 33 of the lid plate 32 into which the valve leg 40 is loosely fitted, and further passes through the orifice 16 of the partition plate 18 and into the measuring chamber 20. Then, the water tray 14 is filled with water. At this time, the water surface A rises to the position of the lower end 42 of the spout 26 and stops.

A pump 44 is provided inside the measuring chamber 20. The pump 44 is a substantially hemispherical chamber 46 having an open lower end 47,
It consists of an impeller 48 arranged inside. The impeller 48 is connected to a motor 52 via a shaft 50.

The upper part of the chamber 46 has an upper ice making or freezing room 12
A water supply pipe 54 extending to is connected. This pipe 54
Is a rigid pipe portion 56 directly connected to the chamber 46 of the pump 44, and a bellows-shaped hose 58 fitted and connected to the upper end thereof.
And a small-diameter aluminum tube 60 whose lower end is fitted and connected to the upper end of the hose at the uppermost stage. Tip of aluminum tube 60
72 is bent and extends above 62 of the ice tray.

When the pump 44 is started in the above state, the water in the measuring chamber 20 is sucked up in the water supply pipe 54, enters the ice making room or the freezing room 12, and enters the ice tray 62 from the tip of the aluminum tube 60. Water is supplied. The amount of water substantially equal to the capacity of the ice tray 62 is contained in the measuring chamber 20, and when all the water in the measuring chamber 20 is supplied, the pump 44 stops operating. At this time, the water in the preliminary chamber 22 gradually flows through the orifice 16
And the water surface rises to the position A and stops.

The water supplied to the ice tray 62 is cooled by cold air supplied from the cooler 66 via the duct 68 to become ice.

The ice tray 62 is rotatably supported by means (not shown) in the frame 64. When the ice making is completed, the ice tray 62
Is inverted to separate water, and the ice is dropped into the ice storage box 70 below and collected there.

When a predetermined amount of ice accumulates in the ice storage box 70 by repeating the above cycle, this is detected by means (not shown) and the above cycle is stopped. When the ice in the ice storage box 70 is consumed and becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the pump 44 is restarted to supply the ice tray 62 with water.

In the above-described ice making apparatus, there is an ice making apparatus provided with a water purification device provided with a filter or activated carbon in a water supply pipe 54 or the like in order to purify water.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) The above-mentioned water purification device has the following problems.

Because it is provided in the water supply pipe 54 that is the water flow path,
The pressure loss is large, and the water supply pump becomes large.

When the life of the filter or the like has come to an end, the replacement work is troublesome.

 The mounting structure of the ice making device becomes complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described drawbacks, and provides an automatic ice making apparatus having a simple mounting structure and easy replacement of a filter and the like.

[Constitution of the invention] (Means for solving the problem) The automatic ice making device of the present invention is a water supply tank used for ice making in an automatic ice making device for a refrigerator that automatically performs water supply, ice making, and ice separation. And a cap provided with a valve is detachably provided at the outlet of the supply tank, and a container accommodating a water purification filter is detachably provided in the cap.

(Function) In the automatic ice making device for a refrigerator having the above configuration, when the water used for ice making flows out of the cap at the outlet of the replenishment tank, it passes through the water purification filter, and the activated carbon contained in the filter is turned off. Thus, impurities and residual chlorine can be removed.

Since the water purification filter is provided on the cap, contamination and clogging can be visually confirmed every time water is supplied to the replenishing tank, and the water purification filter can be replaced as necessary.

(Example) Hereinafter, a water purification apparatus 100 in an automatic ice making apparatus of the present invention will be described.
Will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views of the spout of the replenishing tank, and FIG. 1 shows the spout 26 with the replenishing tank 24 facing downward and on the ridge 38 of the preliminary chamber 22. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the replenishment tank 24 faces upward. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the supply tank 24.

Water supply port cap 30 that fits the spout 26 of the supply tank 24
As described above, the opening 33 is provided at the center of the water supply cap 30 as an outlet for water.
A valve 34 is inserted so as to be able to move up and down. And this valve
The spring 34 is urged by a spring 36 in a direction to close the opening 33. In the present embodiment, the water purification device 10
In order to mount 0, a pedestal 37 having a circular section is protruded. Further, a packing 35 is provided between the spout 26 and the water supply port cap 30.

Reference numeral 101 denotes a cylindrical cartridge-type container containing a granular activated carbon 102 as a water purifying agent, which is attached to and detached from a water supply port cap 30 fitted to a spout 26 while being housed inside a supply tank 24. Engage freely. On the outer peripheral surface of the container 101, a plurality of slits 104, which are water inlets, are formed,
A filter 106 is stretched on the inner surface side of the slit 104.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a concave portion having a circular cross section provided on the lower surface of the container 101, and a plurality of slits 110 serving as water outlets are formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof.
Is stretched. In addition, the upper part of the slit 110 and the lower part of the slit 104 are provided at positions facing each other, and the flow path of water passing through the inside of the container 101 is minimized. The recess 108 is to be engaged with the pedestal 37 of the water supply port cap 30, and in this case, is housed in the upper part of the valve. Further, a packing 114 is provided on the upper inner peripheral surface of the concave portion 108 so that water does not flow outward when the packing 114 is engaged with the pedestal 37 of the water supply port cap 30.

In this container 101, the amount of the activated carbon 102 to be stored is
The container 101 has a smaller volume than that of the container 101 so that a gap is formed inside the container 101. Also, slits 104, 110
The filters 106 and 112 provided for preventing the activated carbon 102 from flowing out, and it is preferable to further add a sterilizing effect to water.

The usage state of the water purification device 100 having the above configuration will be described below.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, water is supplied to the replenishing tank 24, fitted to the pedestal 37 of the water supply port cap 30, into the concave portion 108 of the container 101, and the container 101 is fitted to the spout 26.

In this state, as shown in FIG.
To close the opening 33 which is a water discharge passage. In addition, the granular activated carbon 102 is in a state of being accumulated on the bottom surface of the container 101.

Then, when the replenishment tank 24 is turned upside down and placed on the ridge 38 of the water tray 22 so as to cover the spout 26,
As shown in FIG. 2, the valve 34 is pressed against the elasticity of the spring 36, and the opening 33 is opened. Then, the supply tank
The water in 24 enters the container 101 through the slit 104 and is purified by passing through the activated carbon 102. The purified water flows out of the slit 110 and flows to the water receiving tray 22 through the opening 33.

As described above, since the water purifying apparatus 100 has a structure in which the container 101 is attached to the water supply port cap 30, the replacement operation is easy. Also, since there is a gap inside the container 101, when replenishing water to the supply tank 24, the container 101
Is reversed, and the granular activated carbon 102 is mixed, so that all the activated carbons 102 inside the container 101 work effectively, thereby extending the life. Therefore, the number of replacements can be reduced. further,
Since the distance between the slit 104 and the slit 110 is short, the resistance of the water is small, and the water quickly flows to the water receiving tray 22 only by gravity.

In the above embodiment, the water inlet and outlet of the container 101 are slits 104 and 110, but a plurality of holes may be provided instead.

[Effects of the Invention] The automatic ice making device of the present invention can remove impurities, residual chlorine, and the like contained in water used for ice making, and can obtain sanitary ice without odor.

Since the water purification filter is provided on the cap, contamination and clogging can be visually confirmed every time water is supplied to the replenishing tank, and the water purification filter can be replaced as necessary.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a spout of a replenishing tank mounted on a water tray according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a spout of the replenishing tank with the replenishing tank facing upward. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the supply tank, and FIG. 4 is a partial vertical sectional view of the entire ice making device. Description of the code 10 …… Refrigerator room, 12… Ice making room, 22 …… Water receiving tray, 24 …… Replenishment tank, 30 …… Water inlet cap, 100 …… Water purification device, 101 …… Container, 102… , 104 ... slit, 1
06 ... Filter, 108 ... Recess, 110 ... Slit, 11
2 ... Filter.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An automatic ice making device for a refrigerator for automatically supplying water, making ice, and releasing ice, wherein a water supply tank used for ice making and a cap having a valve at a spout of the supply tank are detachably attached. An automatic ice making device, wherein a container containing a water purification filter is detachably provided in the cap.